Hull-cleaning and friction-reducing apparatus.



PATENTED FEB. 5, 1907. W. A. PARTEE 8: J. G. WHARTON. HULL CLEANING ANDFRICTION REDUCING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.24.1906.

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'UNTTED STATES arana nrron WILLIAM ARKY PARTEE AND JOHN CRIDDLE WHARTON,OF NASHVILLE,

TENNESSEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1907.

Application filed January 24, 1906. Serial No. 297,722.

To aZZ whom it near/y concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM ARKY PAR- TEE and JOHN CRIDDLE WHARTON,citizens of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county ofDavidson and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Hull-Cleaning and Friction-Reducing Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to improvements in hull-cleaning andfriction-reducing apparatus, the object being to clean and keep cleanthe submerged portion of ships and all watercrafts whatsoever, either inmotion or standing still, without having to be raised or docked. Weattain this object with the mechanism described below and illustrated bydrawing deposited with this application.

Our improvement consists in a sectionalized, insulated, electrifiedsheathing adapted to be operated in the ordinary medium for floatingyesselsnamely, water.

The serious retardation to the speed of vessels that is occasioned byhulls being fouled with barnacles, seaa'veeds, silt, &c., is too wellknown to need proof, and the expenses, delays, and troubles of cleaningsuch hulls by docking the vessels and using the ordinary mechanicalmethods are items d e sirable to be lessened'or removed as far as can bedone.

Our invention is designed to effect the cleaning of hulls without thenecessity of decking, and may be operated either while the ship orvessel is stationary or in motion, thus saving the time and expenses ofdecking. As our improvement is adapted to electrochemical operation thetroublesome mechanical methods now in vogue are dispensed with.

Figure 1 is a provisional representation of an entire ship-hull. Fig. 2is a section of Fig. 1 through the vertical plane in line with :1: :11Fig. 1, the scale being somewhat enlarged for better illustration. Fig.3 is a detail drawing of sections of the hull, insulation, sheathing,&c., on a more enlarged scale than shown in Fig. 2. The relativeproportions in the various sections are exaggerated for the sake of easyexplanations and references.

Similar letters and figures of reference refer to similar partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to Fig. 1, the exterior portion of the hull A, as exposed toview, exhibits the covered by electrically-insulated straps a a a, 60

&c. The sections of sheathing 1 2 3 4 5 6, &c., are insulatedelectrically from each other and also from the body of the hull A, towhich they are attached. The methods by which the said insulation isaccomplished are more clearly set forth in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Fig. 2, A represents the main body of the hull, which mayconsist of wood or of wood and metal associated together, as is commonlydone in the practice of ship-building. If the hull should be made ofwood which has been saturated with para'l'lin, for instance, it is initself an electrical insulator, and the sheathing-sheet copper, forinstancecan be nailed or screwed to such wooden hull in suitablesections, separated from each other by a su'llicient space, care beingobserved to avoid any shortcircuiting effect by accidental contacts ofnails, screws, bolts, &c., with conducting materials that wouldelectrically unite sections not intended to be so united.

If the hull A is made partly or wholly of metal, then an electricalinsulator B is provided to make the proper separation between the hull Aand the metallic sheathing 1 2 3 4 5 6, &c., as represented in thedrawings, Figs. 2 and 3. The insulation B may consist of paral'lined or'asphalted, tarred, or creosoted wood, of sheet india-rubber, vulcanizedrubher, or a composition of insulating mate rials such, for instance, asa mixture of paraflin, asphaltum, chicle, and sand. Such insulationmaybe spread entirely over the exterior surface of the hull A, or it maybe spread only upon such surfaces as practically require such insulationIn some cases porcelain, mica, asbestos, or other incombustibleinsulation may be used, as the case may demand or as may be deemedexpedient. Suitable insulation may also be applied to the sheathing onthe surface which is to come in contact with the hull, if so desired, orthe insulation may be applied to the hull only or to the sheathing only,as shall be considered practically the best way in any case, either foreconomy or other reason.

The manner of attaching the different ICC parts, as of insulation andsheathing, to the hull is shown in some of its phases in Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 3, A represents a section of a hul -body and is hereconsidered to be of metal or some electrically-conductive material. B issome form or class of insulation. The said insulation may be secured tothe hull-body A by means of screws, pins, or bolts, as represented bynumbers 10 11, and 12. In every such case the said screw, pin, or boltmust be insulated, so that metallic contact between the hull A and thesheathing 8 or 9 or the strap a shall not occur.

\Vhere it becomes expedient, the insulation B may be inserted into thehull-body A by countersinking it, dovetailing it, or threading it in asa screw, as shown at f, Fig. 3. 'The insulation may also extend entirelythrough the sections both of the hull-body and the sheathing or througheither, as may be found to be best in any given case, though thesefeatures are not shown in the drawings.

In addition to the insulation shown and described the screws, pins,nails, bolts, 850., may be respectively insulated by enamels, lacquers,japans, &c., to be used independently of other insulation or inconjunction therewith, as may be desired.

The insulated sheathing or the uninsulated sheathing maybe fastened tothe insulation B, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of nails or screws 11,14, and 15, while the insulation B is secured to the hull A by screws orbolts 10 12 or other practical methods.

The spaces between the sections of sheathing 1 2 8 4c 5 6 &c., may befilled with suitable waterproof insulation and be left uncovered, or, aswill in most cases probably be preferable, these spaces may be coveredby insulated stra s a a a, &c., in order to make more perfect ywater-tight joints. These straps a a a, &c., may be fastened to theinsu- I lation B, and thus to the hull A, as shown in Fig. 3, by meansof nails, screws, &e., driven in the spaces between the sections ofsheathing123456,&c.

In practice the seams or spaces between the sections of sheathing willprobably be arranged mostly in a longitudinal direction along the hull,rather than transversely, as offering the least resistance to the speedof the vessel when thus arranged, and the sheathing may also overlapitself, as at h, Fig. 1.

The sections of sheathing may be divided into such areas superficiallyas will allow of the most economical application of electrical powerwhich may be obtained from a source of electricity, as from a dynamo orfrom a storage battery, &c., neither of which is shown in the drawings.

Permanent or detachable electrodes may be connected to the differentsections and carried through suitable ways or channels independently ofeach other to a convenient switchboard and be so connected to it thatthe electric current derived from the dynamo or storage battery may beapplied to any two or more sections of the sheathing 1 2 3 4 5 6, 620.,or straps a, a a, &c., that shall be decided upon. In Fig. 1 a diagramindicates a provisional switchboard O, to which electrodes e e e, &c.,are attached at e e e, 800., so that the current-bearing electrodes clof coming from the dynamo or storage battery may be connectedelectrically with the said electrodes 6 e e, &o., by suitableconnections upon a metal plate common to bothsets of electrodes,respectively, as shown at g g.

In operation the process and results are as follows: The electrodes d (1being connected, respectively, to g g with electrodes 6 e, leading,respectively, to 6 and 1 of the sections of sheathing and the electriccurrent turned on electrolytic action takes place between the sectionsof sheathing 6 and 1 through the medium of the water in which the saidsections of sheathing are submerged. Decomposition of the electrolytetakes place and the surfaces of the said sheathing are afiected in thewell-known manner of the anode and cathode, gases being produced on thesubmerged surfaces. Under these conditions adhering things, such asbarnacles, algae, and other organized structures, silt, &c., are

loosened from the surface of the sheathing to 9 which they have adheredand they fall away from it, thus ridding the sheathing of these pests,which act as great retarders of speed and otherwise injuriously to shipsor watercrafts of all kinds.

Having thus described our invention, our claims for the same are asfollows:

' 1. In a hullcleaning, friction-reducing device, the combination of ahull and an insulated sectionalizedsheathing and means for passing anelectric current from one section to another substantially as describedand for the purpose set forth.

2. In a hull-cleaning, friction-reducing device, the combination of ahull and an insulated, sectionalized sheathing, and means forelectrifying the same, substantially as shown and for the purpose setforth.

3. In a hull-cleaning, friction-reducing device, the combination of ahull and an insulated, sectionalized sheathing, and means forelectrifying the same so as to produce gases on the submerged surfaces,substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a'hull-cleaning, friction-reducing device, the combination of ahull and an insulated, seetionalized sheathing, and means forelectrifying the same in two or more equal or unequal parts,substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a hull-cleaning, friction-reducing device, the combination with ahull, of an insulated sectionalized sheathing, a switchboard, insulatedelectrodes connecting separate sections of said sheathing to theswitchboard,

and other electrodes connecting an electrical l tions of said sheathingand means for elecgenerator with the switchboard, whereby l trifying thesame, substantially as shown and separate sections of the sheathing areadaptas set forth. ed to receive, independently of each other, 5 Intestimony whereof we have signed our electricity from the electricalgenerator in 5 names to this specification in the presence of anypredetermined Variation, substantially two subscribing witnesses. andfor the purpose as set forth. VILLIAM ARKY PARTEE.

6. In a hull-cleaning, friction-reducing de- JOHN CRIDDLE WVHARTON.vice, the combination of a hull and an insu- W itnesses lated,sectionahzed sheathing and insulated JAS. E. PARTEE, straps covering thespaces between the sec- L. I. PARTEE.

